uneasy in mind

  Inside the warm and cozy hall, a delicate copper stove was lit with a pleasant and elegant incense, which did not have a strong pungent smell, but instead gave a sense of calmness and clarity after smelling it.

  Xia Ting was now gathered in the same hall with the two managers and several shopkeepers who had just arrived, including Guan Yuan, who had been staying in Yixing City.

  Today is the end of the month and it's time for the monthly settlement. Almost everyone has a thick account book and a small wooden box by their side.

  Xia Ting took a sip of hot tea, and a warm current suddenly flowed from her throat down to her abdomen, making her feel very comfortable. Her slender hands gently fanned the misty heat rising from the teacup, saying "How's business this month? Report everything."

  Everyone in the hall looked at each other, and with great self-awareness, they waited for the two managers to speak up first. As expected, Manager Chang spoke up respectfully, "Miss, currently, the output of those estates under your name can supply the two wine houses, but there is still a large surplus left over. I wonder how these remaining outputs should be handled?"

  Now the output of the Zhuangzi has far exceeded his budget. Even if the two wine houses need a huge amount of ingredients every day, and some are selected to be sent to the young lady, they are just the tip of the iceberg of the output of the Zhuangzi. The vegetables planted in the greenhouse and the animals raised in the shed are so many that they can't be eaten up. He also doesn't dare to let people harvest the vegetables or slaughter the animals, for fear that there is no place to put them. They can only be left to continue raising them.

  What's giving him a headache is the eggs produced in the chicken farm. I really don't know how Miss did it, and she can make those hens lay two eggs a day. You know that these hens only lay one egg a day, which is an eternal truth, but when they came to Miss, everything was different. These doubled eggs are really incredible, and the warehouse is almost full at a glance.

  Xia Ting heard the words and raised her eyes, revealing a very faint smile. "What does Uncle Chang think these outputs should be handled?"

  Her subordinates must be both trustworthy and capable of handling unexpected situations. Otherwise, she would have to personally deal with every little thing that comes up, no matter how small, and that would exhaust her.

  Chang Shu slightly tilted his head, thought for a moment, and then raised it again, saying "I think it's better to sell these ingredients to other restaurants, we can raise the price a bit. Those people have been inquiring about the source of our restaurant's ingredients."

  To know that the same dish, if made with different quality ingredients, can truly have a far cry in terms of taste. The animals raised by Zhuangzi are extremely tender and delicious, and the vegetables are also well-grown. This is why Warm Smoke Building is crowded with customers every day, because the dishes in the wine house are innovative and exceptionally delicious. Apart from the cooking methods taught by the young lady being different, it is also closely related to these high-quality ingredients.

  Xia Ting heard the words and shook her head slightly, "This idea is a bit narrow-minded. There are only a few wine houses in Kyoto, and most of the customers are occupied by our Warm Smoke House. If we just sell food materials to these other wine houses, it's just a drop in the bucket. They can't consume so many food materials."

  Chang Shu listened and also thought it was reasonable, so he furrowed his brow and said "Then according to Miss's view, what should be done?" Should those ingredients be left to spoil?

  Xia Ting gently swayed the tea water in her teacup and said, "Let's open a store specializing in selling these ingredients. Those wealthy families buy back a lot of ingredients every day. If we can get this customer source, will we worry about having too many ingredients and no sales channel? Let's instruct the partners at Nuanshan Building to mention this to the customers today."

  I believe that when the time comes, those regular customers who often come to Warm Smoke Building will definitely support it. After all, they have also tasted the dishes in the restaurant and are extremely fond of them. Now it's just a matter of changing the procurement of ingredients in the palace kitchen to be the same as Warm Smoke Building, which is a small matter that can be resolved with just a few words, and they should all be happy about it.

  When the time comes and the shop opens up, I believe that the output of these villages will definitely bring her another considerable profit.

  Chang Shu nodded repeatedly and also thought this method was extremely good, so he said "Yes, I'll go take care of this matter later." Miss's idea indeed was more thorough than his.

  "After Chang Shu finished reporting on the Zhuangzi's affairs, Yu Shu, who was sitting aside, finally spoke up and said, 'Miss, the business of the two families' wine houses, as well as the Mei Ren Tang and Zhen Bao Xuan, is extremely good. This month's profits are much higher than last month's.'"

  Having said that, he nodded his head and gestured for the shopkeepers in several nearby shops to come over and report the specific situation in detail.

  "Miss, the business of Warm Smoke Building this month is indeed very good. Because there are still vegetables to eat in the restaurant in the cold winter, it attracts many customers. Even on such a cold day, the business has not been sluggish. This is the profit and account book for this month, after deducting the monthly silver given to the partners, there are more than 43,000 taels."

  This is just the profit of one of the two wine houses, and he is in charge of the earliest opened Warm Smoke House. The other branch is not under his jurisdiction.

  Chen Zhanggui respectfully presented the account book and box, and Wan Yu, who was standing beside Xia Ting's body, came down to take them away.

  And the manager of the Warm Smoke Building, Xie, also respectfully presented the account book and silver ticket. "Miss, the business of our wine shop's branch is not bad, this month we have a profit of 40,000 taels."

  He was promoted by the manager, and he was very satisfied with this lucrative job. He worked diligently every day to manage the branch store.

  Xia Ting condensed two silver tickets in the box and then put them aside, planning to go back and review these account books again.

  After the two wine houses finished their reports, it was the turn of Cai Zhanggui from Meiren Hall. The business of Meiren Hall had long been on the right track, with stable profits every month. So Cai Zhanggui only mentioned how much silver they made this month and then presented the box and account book for Xia Ting to check herself.

  Then Xu Zhanggui from Zhenbao Xuan also reported the situation of his shop, business was booming, it was the most profitable among these shops, with a profit of 200,000 taels. His apprentices were all delighted when they received their monthly salary.

  Finally, it was Liu Zhuanggui from the Snow Workshop who had not yet opened. He said, "Miss, all the opening preparations for the Snow Workshop have been completed. The fabrics were all dyed two days ago, and various styles of clothes have also been rushed out. We just need to wait for the day to arrive before we can open."

  He carefully checked the fabrics in the shop every day to see if there were any deficiencies, after all, this was related to whether the opening a few days later would go smoothly. Just now, he saw that several bosses in front of him reported astonishing profit figures, and he believed that as long as he followed Miss's words and took good care of it, he would definitely have a thick income like other bosses next month.

  "Right, on the opening day, we must entertain those guests and get all the employees to perk up. Don't let anyone accidentally let someone sneak away with the clothes from our store."

  Last time in the Beauty Hall, something like this happened. Because business was too hot, the partners were not careful and someone took away a box of Snow Flower Cream worth eighty taels. This was only discovered when checking the goods later. Since then, she has been warning her partners to be vigilant, after all, people who come to the Beauty Hall are mixed in with fish and dragons, making it impossible for her not to guard against.

  Mr. Liu nodded repeatedly, this business is too good, sometimes it's really hard to take care of every place. Who knows, one turn of the eye and someone will teach him to drill a hole. With Miss's special entrustment, he would definitely be extremely careful. You know that those clothes and fabrics are not cheap at all. If he loses an expensive item, he won't know when he can pay it back.

  After finishing the affairs of the restaurant, Xia Tingjing directly waved her hand to let these shopkeepers go down. In an instant, only two managers and Guan Yuan were left in the hall.

  Xia Ting lightly turned her head and looked at Guan Yuan, waiting for him to speak.

  Guan Yuan also presented a box and several thick account books, smiling and saying "Miss, this is the profit of Yixing City and other neighboring cities for this month, totaling over 300,000 taels. The few estates will also be handled as you said after I return, just like what Chang usually handles."

  Xia Ting nodded slightly and said "Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. By the way, how's that other thing going?"

  "Miss, those rice paddies are growing extremely well. Father has also followed your instructions to strictly guard the farm where they were planted. The people working inside are all trustworthy and no one else knows about it. In private, we continue to buy up those fields, and once the land is large enough, we will enclose them again to plant these rice paddies."

  He was extremely surprised when he first saw those rice paddies, ordinary rice paddies wouldn't be like this, just by looking at them you can tell the yield is several times higher than usual. They planted over ten hectares, and when it's time for harvest, the rice will fill up the entire warehouse. Where did Miss get such magical seeds from? Planting one hectare of such rice paddies is equivalent to planting several hectares of others.

  But it was precisely because of this that he understood why the young lady had attached such great importance to this matter and repeatedly instructed him to find a very reliable person to handle it. If others were to know about this, they would not hesitate to use every means possible to snatch the seeds, which would bring in several times more profit than usual.

  Xia Ting nodded and continued, "When harvesting this year, don't look for too many helpers. After all, the more people, the more gossip. It's better to work harder for a few more days than to let others discover our secret. Then we can open a rice shop and start selling rice. We must also be careful in our daily dealings. After harvesting, lock up all the extra rice in the warehouse and don't let anyone know about our actual yield."

  After all, there are so many mu of land that are clearly visible, and if the yield increases by several times after harvesting without any reason, how can it not make people suspicious.

  Guan Yuan also knew the importance of this matter, and nodded repeatedly in agreement. This grain is extremely important for a country, if Miss holds onto it, that would be truly unthinkable.

  Xia Ting nodded and turned to instruct Chang Shu, "You also start buying some land around, make good preparations first." She wanted to gradually grasp the grain business.

  Chang Shu also responded with a yes.

  After finishing the business, Xia Ting brought nearly ten account books and more than 700,000 taels of silver bills back to the Xia Mansion. As soon as she entered her room, she began to review the account books without stopping, concentrating on calculating the accounts.

  Wan Yu was already accustomed to Xia Ting's way of calculating accounts without using an abacus, only paper and pen, and stood obediently aside grinding ink.

  It wasn't until more than half a watch had passed that Xia Ting Cong finally finished reading through this thick account book, and also gained an understanding of the income from those shops under her name. After comparing with last month's account book, she found that the performance had indeed increased. This was good news for her.

  Xia Ting stretched her waist and let Wan Yu put away the account book and silver tickets, locking them in a box. She looked out at the sky again, and at this time, her mother should have woken up from her afternoon nap.

  Xia Ting arrived at the Water family's residence with Wan Yu, looking slightly pensive. From a distance, she saw someone entering from her mother's room.

  The other party suddenly heard Xia Tong's voice and looked up to see her face, with a somewhat surprised expression. After a while, she stammered out "Second sister."

  This man is undoubtedly Xia Qinghe.

  Xia Ting looked at him faintly and said, "Fourth sister is here to see my mother."

  Xia Qinghe's face turned slightly red as she said, "Yes, Second Sister. I've come to learn embroidery from Aunt."

  Xia Ting's gaze paused slightly as she swept over the other person's hair, where a gemstone butterfly double flower gold pin was inserted, and opened her mouth with an unchanged expression, saying "Are you planning to leave? Not staying for a while longer?"

  Xia Qinghe smiled and shook her head, and the golden hairpin on her head also flashed with a dazzling light. The other person said, "No need, I've already disturbed you for a while, Auntie. Xia Qinghe should go back too."

  Xia Ting heard the words and didn't try to persuade her anymore "The four sisters are leaving now."

  Xia Qinghe maintained a proper smile, nodded and then continued walking forward, leaving the Pear Courtyard.

  Xia Ting Cong also stepped into the water's house and saw her own mother sitting in front of the dressing mirror, grooming her makeup.

  As soon as he saw Xia Ting in the mirror, he hastily turned around and exclaimed with joy, "Ting'er, you're here?"

  She reached out and pulled her daughter down beside her.

  Xia Ting Cong obediently sat down, her eyes scanning the jewelry box on the table, and indeed found that a gold hairpin was missing.

  "Mother, Xia Qinghe has been here."

  Shui's family was first stunned, then reacted and said "Ah, that child just left, you must have met her by chance outside."

  Shui's tone was very light when he spoke, and he didn't realize that his daughter called the other person Xia Qinghe instead of Fourth Sister.

  Xia Ting continued, "Mother gave her that gemstone-encrusted butterfly double flower gold hairpin."

  Mother's hairpins were all made by someone specially for her, each one is extremely luxurious and precious.

  "Ah, yes. You don't know. That child is so pitiful, she doesn't even have a decent piece of jewelry. She's still a young lady after all. I didn't expect her life to be this difficult, so my mother gave her the hairpin as a gift for meeting her."

  The lady is really not a person who can tolerate others. Although she is a concubine, she shouldn't even give good jewelry, should she? Madam Shui thought of this and couldn't help but shake her head.

  Xia Ting raised an eyebrow "Oh, is that what she said to her mother?"

  She's really good at playing the pitiful card, and has actually come up with this trick to win over her mother-in-law's sympathy.

  Listening to his daughter's very cold tone, Mr. Shui only felt that something was wrong, and he looked up at his daughter and said, "That's not it, but I think she's dressed too plainly, without even a hairpin on her head, just wearing a jade bangle of extremely poor quality. That's why I gave her the hairpin. What's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

  She just gave a hairpin to the child, but Ning'er looked unhappy.

  "Mother, it's better if you don't have much contact with Xia Qinghe. She suddenly started being overly friendly to you, I'm afraid she has ulterior motives."

  She wasn't reluctant to part with the hairpin, but there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world. She had given him quite a bit of silver previously, and when Xia Qinghe came to see her last summer, he hadn't dressed so shabbily. This time, however, he was deliberately doing so, and just thinking about it made her realize that he didn't have good intentions.

  Her mother gave her hairpins today and tomorrow she will give her bangles. After a long time, getting good things so easily will only make her more and more dissatisfied, with a bigger heart, thinking that all these are what she deserves.

  Shui's eyes widened in surprise and he said, "No way, I thought that kid was quite honest. Jing'er, are you overthinking this?"

  That Qinghe kid is quite enthusiastic towards her, and also seems a bit shy, pretty likable. Does she really think Cong'er's words are true and has ill intentions towards herself?

  "Mother, one must always be cautious. This person's heart is not genuine, and she's not even your own daughter - she has her own birth mother. Yet she keeps going to the Pear Courtyard every day, claiming she has no ulterior motives - who would believe that?"

  Her mother is someone who never thinks twice about anything and always believes whatever others say. She also doesn't know how to figure out the implications behind people's actions.

  Shui's eyes widened suddenly, and after thinking about it, she felt that there was indeed some reason to be suspicious. This Qinghe had only recently started being overly friendly with her daughter, and before that, he would often come to find her to learn embroidery, behaving extremely well, so she hadn't thought much of it. Now that her daughter mentioned it, it did seem a bit off.

  Shui's brow furrowed as he asked, "Ning'er, what do you think she's doing this for?" Was it just to covet these accessories of hers?

  Xia Ting was playing with a hairpin in her jewelry box, revealing a faint smile and saying "What else could it be for? Most likely they just want to curry favor with you, so they can get something from me."

  She could almost guess the other's thoughts, women of this generation spent their lives planning to marry a good husband. Xia Qinghe was no exception, and the other's thoughts were not small, fearing that she wanted to marry into a powerful family. This point had already been detected from her last conversation with the other party, and soon she would be marrying into the Jing Wangfu, so the other party should have thought of using her identity as the Crown Prince's wife to plot a good marriage.

  "Will she have evil intentions towards you like Old Lady and Madame?"

  Having learned from past experiences, she can't help but think of the worst now.

  Xia Ting smiled slightly "She won't, at least not for now." As long as the other party isn't stupid, they will only try to please her until they achieve their goal.

  Digression

  Guys, I'm so embarrassed! Last night, I was typing away until very late, and when I took a break in the afternoon to write something, I accidentally fell asleep on my bed. Oh dear, I slept all the way till 7 pm, and it wasn't until my mom called me to get up for dinner that I woke up. I quickly got up and started typing again, and now it's like this. ⊙﹏⊙b Sweat! This is just the first update, and there's still another chapter tonight, but it'll be very late before I can update it. Guys, don't wait for it, haha, it's not worth losing sleep over!